Coronavirus LIVE: Fight is to save India from complete lockdown, says PM

Coronavirus live updates: India has added 1,532,388 Covid cases in the last 7 days, followed by the US (493,159) and Brazil (460,528). Stay tuned for corona-related news

9:21 AM

PM to meet Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers today

With the government opening the Covid-19 vaccination drive to everyone above 18 years of age, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting with vaccine manufacturers on Tuesday, ANI reported.

 

During the meeting, scheduled to be held through video conference at 6 pm on Tuesday, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) will make a presentation and also coordinate with all the participants, sources added.

8:59 AM

Unsure whether vaccines are effective against Indian Covid-19 variant: UK

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said he cannot give any assurances that the current vaccines the UK has against Covid-19 will be as effective against the new variant of the virus that originated in India.

 

Replying to a question asked by India-origin Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi in Parliament to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on Monday, the UK government confirmed they do not know whether the UK's vaccination programme will be effective against the Indian Covid-19 variant. Read on...

8:55 AM

Entry for New Delhi & Chandni Chowk (station) temporarily closed to ensure social distancing: DMRC

Entry for New Delhi & Chandni Chowk (station) has been temporarily closed to ensure social distancing as part of crowd control measures. Exit is allowed: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

8:54 AM

Covid-19 could be deadlier in 2021: Look at what's happening in India

Covid-19 is going to kill more people in 2021 than it did last year. If you want to see why, look at what’s happening in India.

 

Cases have been surging in the country of 1.37 billion people. On Sunday alone, 261,500 new infections were recorded. That’s as bad as the U.S. during all but the worst five days of the pandemic in December and early January. Case counts are rising far more quickly, too. Average infection numbers over the past seven days have run at nearly three times the level two weeks ago, a pace of growth that the U.S. last saw in the early days of the outbreak a year ago. Read on...

8:53 AM

Delhi Police creates green corridor y'day to transport Oxygen tankers to Balaji Action Hospital

8:39 AM

Meghalaya will close its doors to tourists from outside the state from April 23, 2021

Meghalaya will close its doors to tourists from outside the state from 23rd April 2021 however, local tourism will continue. There will also be closure in tourist locations that have high tourist footfall. The time frame of RT-PCR tests will be reduced from 72 to 48 hrs.

8:31 AM

UK PM cancels India visit due to Covid surge

UK PM cancels India visit due to Covid surge

 

7:58 AM

Nepal schools shut till 14th May

Nepal Government decides to close all schools in urban areas till 14th May in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases: Prabhu Shah, Nepal Minister, to ANI

 

7:45 AM

Delhi reports 23,686 new Covid-19 infection cases in 24 hours, 240 deaths

As many as 240 people lost their lives to COVID-19 -- the highest-ever number of deaths registered in a single day in the national capital - and 23,686 fresh coronavirus infections were reported in the last 24 hours in Delhi.

 

As per the state health bulletin of the Delhi government issued on Monday evening, the total infection caseload has reached 8,77,146 with 76,887 active cases. The overall COVID-19 casualties in Delhi have soared up to 12,361.

7:35 AM

BJP accuses Delhi govt of failing to shield people from Covid-19 spurt

The BJP's Delhi unit on Monday accused the Arvind Kejriwal government of failing to protect the people from surging COVID-19 cases in the city and demanded it to come out with a white paper on preparations made to tackle the deadly virus.

 

BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that Delhi is facing the crisis because the AAP government "failed" to take timely steps to control COVID-19. Read on...

7:34 AM

Over 127 mn coronavirus vaccine doses administered so far: Health Ministry

India has administered more than 12.69 crore coronavirus vaccine doses to eligible beneficiaries till Monday evening, the Union Health Ministry said.

 

Total 73,600 COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) were operational on Monday, the highest so far, it said, adding that on an average 45,000 CVCs were functional on any given day earlier.

 

Workplace vaccinations have also enabled such a high turnout of beneficiaries, the ministry said in a statement. Read on...

7:10 AM

Climate activist Greta Thunberg joins fight against vaccine inequity

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has urged governments, vaccine developers and the world to step up their game to fight vaccine inequity after the richest countries snatched up most COVID-19 vaccine doses and those in poorer nations have gone lacking.

 

Her comments on Monday came as the World Health Organization announced 5.2 million new confirmed virus cases over the latest week, the largest weekly count yet, according to the UN health agency. Read on...

7:05 AM

Covid-19 negative: Testing time for Railways, opportunity for racketeers

There was chaos at Bihar’s Buxar railway station last week after news spread that commuters from Maharashtra were being subjected to Covid-19 tests. As passengers scurried to avoid being tested, videos of the incident were widely shared on social media, with strong reactions pointing out how this might lead to further spread of the deadly virus.

 

Situated on the banks of the Ganga, Buxar borders Uttar Pradesh. This means that commuters from Maharashtra, one of the worst Covid-hit states, will likely spill over to at least two populous states with poor health infrastructure. READ ON...

6:55 AM

Recovery tracker: Workplace visits lowest since Dec, power generation hit

People are staying at home more amid a record rise in Covid-19 cases.

 

Mobility data shows visits declined to every category of place that search engine Google tracks. It uses anonymised location data to see how people are moving during the pandemic. Read on...